


Kingdom Hearts: Hunter's Light

by Lotus063



Category: Destiny (Video Games), Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-10 12:48:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17426219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotus063/pseuds/Lotus063
Summary: While Sora and Riku are on their mark of mastery, another wielder rises. A wielder from a world rising from the ashes into an era of uncertainty after his death and when a threat arises in the Dreaming City, it is up to him to stop it or die trying. This is his destiny. This is the story of Ace.





	1. Chapter 1

_**Ace's Journal final entry (?)** _

_Dad,_

_I don't why I was chosen by this...thing. I thought I knew who I was, an ordinary hunter who has no idea who his parents were. Yet the closest thing was there underneath my nose, I miss you dad and I'm very scared right now. But I know what you would as always: We're hunters, fear is our thrill and the gun helps with it. And in this situation, the keyblade helps. So no matter what...always have a smile on your face. I will Dad. I will._

_Your son Ace._

* * *

Eleusinia, present day.

A lone hunter walks in the ruins of the corrupted halls of the throne world that belongs to Mara Sov armed with an  _Origin Story_ auto rifle in her arms and a  _Izanagi's Burden_ sniper rifle on her back as she checks the corners of the halls and passes by the statue of Sjur Eido with the missing bow on it because she passed that trial just recently. But it was not the time to travel down memory lane, this was personal and all of their sacrifices and buildup led to this. Her armor is the  _Frumious_ armor set with a custom black and purple shader as she continues aiming her weapon while another hunter is up on a pillar armed with a  _Hawkmoon_ hand-cannon in his hand then jumps while using his knife to slide down and join her. He holsters the strange sword behind his back while landing in front of her, the sword resembles a sword with teeth on its side and is colored tan and blue and resembles a key.

His armor mainly consists of a  _Kairos Function mask_  on his head and  _Wing Contender_ chest armor alongside a  _Vanguard Dare_ boots on his legs with the gauntlets being  _Prodigal Grips_ with the  _Bumblebee_ shader on all of them. On his back is the  _Vanguard Dare_ cloak with the symbol covered by the keyblade. They hear the sound of armor crunching on the ground causing both to turn around to see a woman wearing violet armor resembling that of a female knight with the helmet having a dome visor and backwards fins on the sides. She too is armed with the same weapon the male hunter is wielding as well like the male hunter but hers looks elegant and is colored like her armor. The male hunter nods at her while looking around...

They hear footsteps causing the three of them to turn around with the female hunter aiming her rifle at whatever is making the sound and see a woman with faded blue hair and dark skin with yellow eyes walking towards them armed with the same strange sword but different. Her outfit is a black high collared high top, a black corset with two black straps intersecting her chest. Her gloves are colored black with the finger tips being red and her sleeves as well alongside black stockings reaching halfway on her thighs leaving little skin with torn cloths on her hips. The male hunter nods to the female hunter causing her to start firing the weapon right away while he dashes towards her with the female wielder next to him doing the same but holds it it like a normal sword while the female one has it aimed backwards on her hand by reversing the grip. The dark woman blocks the shots with her weapon while the male hunter throws a skip grenade at her causing it to burst with the rounds swarming her but she quickly backs away while emitting some kind of wave that freezes the explosives in their place with frost causing them to shatter into pieces as he swings left and right at the woman who is dodging his attacks as the armored makes it in time to bounce off a pillar and raises her sword towards her but the blue haired menace raises her sword to block the strike causing her to throw her over.

The male hunter comes at her again but she pulls out a familiar looking hand-cannon colored white and black with a spade on the barrel and fires at him which hits the incoming attack but only takes a little bit of his shield down causing him to yell in fury instead but she blocks it next with a taunting smile on her face and shoots his helmet next which breaks a part of the visor off. His other half is covered by a shadow as he prepares to strike again as the female hunter continues giving sniper support with her gun from a distance as she begins running. The violet armored woman gets up and reaches her hand out as a swarm of what appears to be the same weapons the male hunter and her are using rises up with the huntress getting on one of them and starts firing again as the woman turns and begins running in annoyance with all the shots blocking every single one of them as the armored woman gets up with her weapon in hand as it begins to charge up in a mysterious violet light as the male hunter catches up as his key-like weapon charges the same with a fiery glow to it from behind but she ducks immediately and attempts to slice him in half but he dodges the incoming strike and attempts to hit her in the back. The woman rolls forward then turns around at them in fury as the female armored woman readies her blade alongside the male hunter while the female hunter floats behind them switching to her sniper rifle and takes aim.

She simply smirks and jumps in the air while summoning a strange flying craft causing the female hunter to fire at her but she activates her armor which blocks the bullets. The woman speeds towards the female hunter but the male rises up and attempts to knock her back but she rams through him and grabs her by the throat as the violet armored woman fires a lightning bolt from her weapon at her. The female hunter struggles as the woman holds by her throat then reaches the top of the throne with the two looking up from below, she smiles as if she's taunting them and crushes her head then freezing her body much to their shock then drops her. The male hunter runs towards his falling companion with pieces of her armor falling off then hits the ground while sliding but he catches her. Her helmet has been torn up revealing her face, she has black hair with purple highlights and blue eyes. The male hunter hangs his exposed eye in sorrow then looks up at the woman above while the ground near him shakes to see the violet armored woman rising with lightning strikes hitting her but she still persists. It stops with her armor wrecked and leaves her mouth exposed as she runs towards the blue haired woman and slashes at her with full force but to no avail as she charges her weapon again then slams it against hers giving off a purple colored shock wave which pushes the two back. The woman remains standing unscathed while the violet one's helmet falls apart revealing her face...

Mara Sov, Queen Of The Awoken, the woman in front of Mara smirks again but what she doesn't know is that there is a ship rising behind her. It's the male hunter who is hanging on and stopping behind the woman who turns around as he takes aim with his finger hesitating on the trigger. The sky opens above them revealing a glowing heart shaped object as the woman stands still in between them.

A gunshot is heard.

* * *

One Week Prior...

The male hunter wakes up on the ground that is strangely colored causing him to get up and look around his surroundings revealing it to be some kind of stained glass window-like platform surrounded by the people he cares about and wielding a strange sword. He notices that his helmet is gone revealing his face and hair to be golden blonde and semi short with some dirt on his face causing him to look around for a moment while upholstering his hand cannon and squints. The hunter hears a voice from somewhere but he can't point it out.

"So much to do...so little time...Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut." The voice spoke causing his twitch reflexes to kick in and quickly moves around while aiming his gun in one hand. He grits his teeth and hears the ground churning then turns around and sees stone platforms rising with weapons appearing on them as the first is a shield, second is a sword, and third is a wand causing him to tilt his head slightly and lowering his gun.

"Power sleeps within you...if you give it form...It will give you strength." It spoke causing the young hunter to walk towards one of them which is the sword and smirks seeing that it's his first choice then grabs it while checking it out. If his ghost was here then he can see if this is an exotic or legendary but the design overall screams exotic regardless, he's never seen this sword at all either. The emblem on the hilt resembles a mouse causing him to raise an eyebrow at it then rests the blade on his hand.

"The power of a warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction." The voice observed the sword on his hand as the hunter holsters it on his back. It soon vanishes from his back much to his irritation and surprise then turns around at the other platforms carrying the wand and shield which he has no interest in whatsoever. These things would probably be priceless in the market though but alas, they'd probably be cheap so its best to sell them to a Cryptarch.

"Now what will you give up in exchange?" The blonde hunter places his thumbs on his finger for a moment then walks over to the wand and picks it up. He notices that it looks more like a toy rather than a normal looking weapon which is logical to give it up in exchange for the shield. The hunter hears the voice again making him wonder if this dream is from an Ahamkara of some kind or bad spicy ramen he had recently. He'd like to compare it to an acid trip gone horribly wrong but he isn't seeing bad stuff yet.

"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?" He nods at the voice causing the wand to disappear into light catching him off guard in the process as the pieces float up into the air making him sad that he couldn't sell it for glimmer. But whatever floats this things boat yet it would've been priceless, he might end up as a laughing stock though if he picked it up.

"You have chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?" The hunter nods in agreement again seeing that he's more of a rogue type and doesn't really comprehend magic like his friend at all. It's not like he's stupid, he just sees red flags on why you shouldn't wield stuff like that when there are warlocks out there. Plus he's a hunter and the magic should be with warlocks and warlocks only...but then there is Eris Morn though yet he doesn't see himself as a magic wielder. The platform begins to collapse alongside the stained glass-like window floors beneath him shatters into pieces causing him to scream but his voice is silenced.

The next platform appears revealing a stained glass floor but he can make it out a shape to be a female hunter in  _frumious_ hunter armor with black hair that has purple highlights with her eyes closed as if she was resting and armed with a weapon like he had on the stained glass platform only that her glass colored is light purple instead. He uses his boost jump to break the fall and lands safely on the ground as the sword appears on his right hand hand as if it spawned from light. The male hunter knows this huntress, her name is Layla.

"You've gained the power to fight." The hunter looks at the sword and unholsters his gun revealing it to be a black and white revolver-like gun with a large barrel that has an spade on on it then uses his left to pick it up. He walks forward while aiming down the gun for a moment to check the perimeter then notices something on the ground rising up, a black shadowy figure of some kind with another by its side. The two rise to reveal two almost deformed monsters that remind him of the Taken except their heads are round with a twisted antennae on them with glowing yellow eyes and sharp claws alongside large feet.

"There will be times where you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong." He aims his gun at the one in front of him and fires which hits the creature in the head thus killing it while the other lunges towards him but the hunter quickly slices it in half. More begin to spawn causing him to twirl the gun then fires it at another which wounds it in the process right before throwing a knife at it causing the creature to explode. Another jumps towards him but he runs towards it and slides then raises the sword thus slicing it in half throws an incendiary grenade that explodes in the process and sends a creature flying towards him as he moves out of the way and it hits another creature instead. The hunter stabs both of them like a shishkebab ruthlessly like they were nothing but what he doesn't notice is that the floor is turning black but he looks down and sees whats happening.

The hunter attempts to move but his foot is stuck on the ground which causes him sink into it much to his panic as the black mass consumes his body completely and his world becomes darkness. He continues to panic but his vision becomes clear and sees that the floor is another stained glass portrait of what appears to be Mara Sov but unlike the others who are resting, Mara is front and center aiming her strange weapon down surrounded by portraits of Uldren Sov, Petra Venj, Sjur Eido, and an unknown man with black hair and a ponytail alongside a goatee. There is a door in front of him and he opens it revealing a lab of some kind...he looks around for a moment but the door shuts behind him causing him to turn around then look back. He hears the ground rumbling for a moment causing him to head upstairs...and sees a giant mass approaching him as he finds himself in Venus. The hunter is soon overwhelmed by fear but something passes by him, it's a blue haired woman about his age then turns around and utters a phrase.

"Everyone is waiting their birth by sleep..." Soon the hunter is engulfed by the black mass.

* * *

The hunter opens his eyes slowly and sees the blue sky while hearing the sounds of the PA calling specific people or ships flying off into the distance. He gets up showing the solid ground of the tower for a moment and yawns in exhaustion then lays on his back seeing the female hunter from his dream causing him to scream briefly and rise up. He really hates it when Layla does that but at least it helps a surge of energy in his body to keep pumping due to the sudden shock.

"Whoa!" He screamed as the female one smirks seeing him like this. She knows that he's always had a habit of sleeping in the afternoon at three after a morning of doing normal guardian stuff like going to the Crucible then dozes off while watching the sky probably on top of the Eververse shop. Being a guardian can be tedious and tiring after all, especially with whats going on in the Dreaming City and how the two had to endure running around doing the Ascendant challenges in that creepy world. Don't even mention the forges Ada goes on about as well.

"Ace you lazy bum." The huntress smiled causing Ace to get up slowly, despite guardians never needing sleep, Ace always found sleeping relaxing rather than staying up all day sitting a ship waiting for something to happen or constantly fighting. He needs some relax and relaxation after all in these times of doubt after Cayde's death since the hunters are without a leader now and who knows who Cayde chose for the Vanguard dare with rumors circulating around that it's Marcus Ren or Shin Malphur to which Layla hopes it'll be Shin, she has nothing against Ren but Shin is more worthy but there's more rumors that he's gone off the grid hunting down rogue guardians.

"You should really stop doing that! Seriously, it ruins the point of me looking up in the sky and counting the ships before I doze off again." Ace sarcastically replied while getting up. On Layla's waist appears to be a special bounty from the Black Armory which Ace sighs knowing what Layla wants, get to a nearby forge and forge a weapon she wants. He often wonders how full is her vault right now but he's not complaining at all since he wants those weapons after all, he's a huge fan of the foundary as well. Layla pats him on the shoulder with a smirk on her face then turns to walk away.

_**Sunflower By Post Malone.** _

"Dude we're guardians, we don't need sleep. Sleep is for the weak." Layla replied while impersonating Patrick Star with Ace catching up to her and scratching the back of his head feeling an itch on it. That dream though...it felt real and almost like he's seen something from a strange horror movie or a fantasy game he'd play on his ship, Ace shakes his head from the thought of seeing that and wonders if he can take his mind off by joining Layla do her thing by going to the forges to forge a new weapon.

"Whatever you say so. So any plans when we're done with our daily stuff?" Ace asked.

"The usual: Sit atop the tower and eat some ice cream. Not the salt one, those give me the shits." The huntress replied causing Ace to laugh remembering that time where Layla literally had to shadow dodge her way to the bathroom nearby. It was hilarious seeing her listen to a debriefing then running off while leaving a trail of arc energy from her footprints. Layla rolls her eyes and summons her ghost, Dokkaebi, then heads to orbit as Ace does the same.

* * *

Volundr Forge, EDZ.

Ace is tossed against a wall by a Cabal Legionary due to an explosion hitting him and sending the hunter flying in the process thus making him end up here. He gets up and shoots his hand cannon known as the  _Ace Of Spades_ at his head thus causing it to explode in the process. The hunter twirls the gun and holsters it as the forge ignites with energy while bursting with legendary engrams for himself and for Layla as he places his hand on her shoulder while a fellow titan looks on.

* * *

Pacifica, Titan.

"And that is why we should change our clan name from Tango Wolves to the M14 gang! I mean, we're hunters and hunters love scout rifles plus the M14 is a scout rifle!" Layla explained her plan while taking cover behind a wall armed with a  _Ringing Nail_ auto-rifle as Ace is laughing uncontrollably near their clan leader. Suddenly, a skip grenade is thrown at them causing Ace's eyes to widen.

"Oh shit! Move!" Ace yelled while pushing Layla as the tracker rounds surround Ace thus killing him until his ghost, Weiss, revives him again causing him to get up with a smirk on his face then pulls out his gun again and starts shooting at the guardian that did it. The match ends showing that they've lost but Ace and Layla get powerful gears in the form of a  _Subtle Calamity_ bow for her and a  _Ten Paces_ hand cannon for Ace to which he infuses with his current gun.

* * *

Hellas Basin, Mars.

Ace dances to the music that's playing in his helmet while tossing a grenade without looking at a bunch of thrall coming at him as Layla lunges towards the large Hive knight and kills it with her sword causing it to shatter and die. The remaining thralls look in terror before cowering and teleporting away as a chest spawns with a still dancing Ace heading towards it and picks up an  _IKELOS_SG_v1.0.1_ shotgun with Layla getting the same and kisses the gun. Ace looks at the shotgun for a moment with a small smile with some enthusiasm and sighs.

* * *

Emerald Coast, EDZ.

The male hunter runs towards the taken knight who is the primeval with his sword ready and stabs it on the side of the leg causing the knight to scream as Layla shoots it in the head thus killing it. Layla lowers her rifle,  _The Long Goodbye,_ with a smirk on her face as Ace uses his sit emote and sits on the ground.

* * *

Layla walks on the edge of the hanger overlooking the Last City with Ace carrying a box of blueberry ice cream then setting it down and sits next to her. She's always loved it when they do this most of the time, it makes them feel human even though they're just resurrected corpses risen from the dead by the Traveler. It made her remember the simpler times if they still had any memories at all. Ace looks at his ice cream for a moment as Layla eats hers with his eyes showing emptiness and doubt in them.

"Next time, we should stick to the cave cause that was way too close." Layla spoke and turns to Ace who turns to her back. His eyes scream out some kind of conflict which Layla can tell, she always can tell if someone was lying cause in her previous life is that she always was lied to. Ace never knew much about his previous life, he woke up in a lab on the ground wearing his hunter attire by default given by his ghost.

"We almost lost the forge as well, I would've torn my hair out if we did that stuff again. Especially when the damn legionaries sneak up on you. For a warmongering race of killer space rhinos, they're stealthy as hell." Ace sighed in irritation as Layla takes a bite off of her ice cream which Ace finds annoying that Layla doesn't lick it but eats it. But Ace does the same as well too.

"Well they are the Red Legion and they're not your normal space rhinos too. They should be leaving right now from the solar system to that giant fish on Nessus but they still remain on earth, especially when one of their ships is grounded after what that guardian did. I've heard the Consensus is granting them a pardon so they can leave but there's rumors saying we could be amassing one last final assault against them. I hope for the second, damn murderers, I'm still reeling that we missed out an ENTIRE war and almost got grilled by Zavala for it back at the Iron Temple." Layla sighed feeling guilt that they didn't participate.

"At least we dodged a bullet back there thanks to coincidence when we decided to celebrate at the Iron Temple for the anniversary of the Battle of Six Fronts. Hikari basically saved our lives the moment she invited us to shoot off fireworks with Shiro. But still, it was pretty bad that we didn't participate in making history by retaking the city plus we couldn't get out because our ghosts could no longer trans-mat a ship for us too." Ace adds with Layla nodding.

"But at least we helped in finishing the Red War...all that's left is that Dreaming City mess after what that prince did. Did you hear rumors that he killed Cayde though? That son of a bitch..." She hissed remembering what Uldren Sov did to Cayde-6, too bad no one knows his face and the only person who saw him face to face killed him in the process. Layla notices that Ace was caught off guard then hanging his eyes in sorrow by the mention of Cayde causing her to realize what she said and the mere mention.

"Oh shit! Sorry, I didn't want to mention..."

"It's okay. I'm glad that pretty boy kicked the bucket, could care less about his sister too. He was like a dad to me you know? Cayde. Like when I first woke up and I introduced myself to him, he said if I had spare time then he'll teach me the ways of the hunter and I learned from him. I just wish...that didn't happen...that asshole." Ace sighed angrily and sadly. Layla blinks her eyes then turns them to avoid eye contact with Ace remembering how much Cayde and him got along so well, almost as if he was his son too. The blonde raises eyes in determination to her.

"Hey Layla...you think...there's more to being a guardian?" The hunter asks him causing her to tilt her head.

"Yeah of course. We slay gods and wield highly advanced weaponry, what's there to be?" Layla questioned him. Ace chuckles.

"Like is there more than just fighting and slaying gods? Is there a higher purpose than just doing that all day?" She's caught off guard by this question, Layla falls silent for a moment. This has been her life this whole time after she left her old life behind and there's nothing more she's grateful of nonetheless and here's her partner questioning everything they do. Where she's from and what she's been through, there's more out there and it's not pretty at all.

"Well guardian life is random, one day it can be doing the stuff we do then the next by chance-something else will happen. That's how we roll most of the time, maybe by chance you'll have something that no guardian can deal with. Maybe today or tomorrow...but we have to be patient." Layla spoke. Ace gives a small chuckle while looking at the sky above.

"Yeah..." Ace replied and looks blankly at the sky for a moment. He soon feels like he's being watched for some reason causing him to turn his head and sees someone watching them from a distance. It seems to resemble a warlock but the outfit is strange and doesn't match up with any warlock whatsoever at all, he sees what appears to be a man wearing a dark trench coat with a hood on his back with the face of the wearer covered by a black dome-like helmet of some kind standing by the entrance in front of Amanda. Ace nudges Layla causing her to turn at the figure.

"Is he looking at us?" Layla whispered to him. Silence falls between them for a moment as some kind of dark aura fills the air making Ace think that this is no normal guardian but Layla is skeptical though. She leans towards Ace wearily with a hint of fear thinking whoever this is, he or she is bad news as Ace can't help but feel a little scared right now as if that thing in the distance is a hunter and he's the prey.

"Maybe he's just a warlock. They tend to be creepy sometimes." Lord Shaxx walks past them as the mysterious figure disappears from their view causing their eyes to widen.

"That's not a warlock."

"I don't think he's a guardian either. Lets go!" Ace ordered as Layla nods then gets up alongside him then begins running. He opens the holster of his gun while Layla readies her scout rifle known as the  _Polaris Lance_ on her hand urgently with Ace leading her to the entrance and quickly moving up the staircase to where a couple of engineers are repairing sparrows then sees him walking to the side heading to the tower lobby. Ace runs there next to see that he's gone but it's likely that he went up causing him to move there next. He arrives in the lobby as many guardians pass by him but he doesn't see the figure neither does Layla...until he spots him across near Banshee-44's shop. It moves away possibly heading downstairs with Layla and him rushing towards it but not before Layla stops and sees Zavala in the distance.

"Commander! We got an intruder! He's running off to the marketplace!" Layla yelled at Zavala who notices her causing the Awoken titan to nod. He knew the new Golden Age would bring about threats so perhaps domestic ones as well, especially with that raid back at the Black Armory. She soon follows Ace next who is ahead of her right now. Ace jumps off of the balcony leading downstairs gun in hand and runs in the tunnel leading to the market as he looks around then sees the stranger behind the side of the ramen shop but he moves again much to his frustration then continues following him. He can tell that this leads to the Annex where the Black Armory is which means whoever it is will be cut off.

Ace heads downstairs while aiming  _Ace Of Spades_ which is the real gun given to him by the guardian as the other is a replica from his collection and slowly walks while checking the perimeter. Whoever this figure is, there is no way he's a guardian at all due to the amount of shadiness he/she is giving off around him/her. The hallways have some light in them which he can see but he's always found the place to be creepy as hell, even more creepy than the Hellmouth too. He feels like someone is around the corridor causing him to turn and see no one causing the hunter to lower his gun then holsters it.

"I always find you guardians and people of the city funny." A voice spoke behind him revealing it to be the figure with Ace quickly attempting to draw but it fires some kind of black fire on his hand which burns it. Ace winces in pain before his shield goes back up causing him to pull it out again with the figure laughing at him for a moment. This was strong evidence that he's no guardian at all alongside the fact his ghost is recording all of this right now.

"Thinking a giant ball in the sky will protect you. But you...I find interesting, a wielder who forgot who he is." He spoke to him as Ace gets up while covering his injured hand.

"Pal, you better start being a little clear cause the only thing I wielded is a gun or a sword. One of which would be against your head if you burn my hand." Ace growled in front of them. He's heard of guardians possessing the powers of the dark but never in this magnitude though there are examples like Toland, Eris, and Dredgen Yor yet this guy is nothing like them at all. No designation nor class, this has to be another party beyond the ones guardians have fought. He summons and aims a key-shaped weapon at his head...

"I could kill you here but the boss says you have a purpose." The helmeted strange spoke then turns around with some kind of dark portal opening which he enters. Layla and Zavala head down as they see the strange hole before it closes leaving Ace compelled at what he's seen. Zavala looks at the portal in horror before getting a glimpse of it wishing that Eris is around to explain it.

"You alright?" Layla asks him causing Ace to nod. Weiss appears before Ace and floats near his shoulder.

"So did you get any of that on camera? Cause I don't Zavala thinking I'm crazy." Ace spoke.

"Of course idiot. I wouldn't let you explain things." Weiss scoffed as Zavala stands in front of Ace as he walks off with Layla.

* * *

"In time you will be free...O wielder of mine." A voice spoke to a woman with white hair overlooking a black sea and white light.

"...Because all of the pieces are falling into place...This world "

* * *

In the Dreaming City, a door opens...with yellow eyes behind it.

* * *

"Hey Layla about that symbol on your cape. What's that all about?" Ace asks while his hand heals slowly by his light but Weiss takes snapshots of the wounds he has with his hand having black singes on it. Layla looks at her cafe while taking it off on that symbol is an upside down heart with it being extended with a sharp point on the top and a line with two points in the middle.

"It's nothing...it makes it look cool. That's all."


	2. Anomaly

Ikora Rey checks out the footage in the debriefing room on the computer on Ace's hand as it seers with some kind of strange darkness to it on her data-pad almost resembling the wounds Eris Morn inflicted on herself when she was escaping the Hellmouth. She's seen burns before like arc, void, solar but this is different, this was...pure darkness. Zavala looks on in worry and suspicion that there could be a third party organization in the middle of this that is against the guardians. He wishes Eris would see this and get to the bottom of it but she isn't here at all making him wonder where she is at the moment.

"What's Ace's status?" He asks him knowing who Ace belongs to and also the fact that said person knows Ace wasn't ready to become the leader of the hunters. The fact Ace reminds him of...him makes the loss even worse that he didn't have enough courage to say he was his father after all despite everything he's done with him. It was a tragic loss and the only thing left of his legacy is Ace as a guardian.

"He's doing better since the wound has healed because of his light. But..." Ikora looks in worry for a moment at the footage.

"This element is nothing like we've never seen before at all. The only thing closer to it is the poisoned effect from the thorn which was wielded by Dredgen Yor years ago. Perhaps our intruder was a guardian who's gone to the darkness rather than the light." She continued catching Zavala off guard assuming the group responsible for this attack.

"You don't think this is the Shadows Of Yor's doing?" Zavala questioned knowing that they were determined to control the darkness by not letting it take over them at all. They were never mentioned nor had a resurgence whatsoever after the Red War making him wonder if they were either killed or made a come back. Although the Shadows never harmed any guardian whatsoever at all, none in fact, and Ace stated that he opened a black portal then went off somewhere which is something that the Shadows can't do.

"Unlikely. The Shadows only wield a small portion of the darkness yet this one is purely based on it alone. This is sorcery that is beyond that of a wielder of light and dark, this is from another world beyond ours similar to that of Calus and the Hive's ability only scaled to eleven." Ikora explained while looking at the burns on Ace's hand. The medical records state that Ace's light managed to heal the wound showing that there is a remedy to whatever was inflicted upon him. Zavala hangs his eyes lost in his thoughts right now...

"Zavala." Ikora called making him snap out of it causing him to look up at the warlock vanguard.

"Oh sorry, I was lost in thought. Here I thought we'd have a new Golden Age and that all our troubles were gone...but all it did was bring new ones. From Cayde's death and the curse of Riven and this...new faction, I feel the worst has yet to come right now and this is only the beginning of our troubles." Zavala sighed while Ikora nods in agreement.

"It doesn't make it better that you didn't tell Ace about him either neither did the Guardian. He said he couldn't do it at all and Amanda has been egging for one of us to tell him while she keeps threatening to tell yet doesn't." Ikora said sadly knowing Cayde told Amanda about his son due to the fact she's one of his closest friends alongside Shiro-4. She often wonders if Shiro knows about Ace as well though...

"Ace isn't ready yet. He maybe a full fledged guardian like all of us but this...a guardian's goal is look forward into the future but never in the past. If Ace finds out that Cayde-6 is his father then who knows what he'll do next because he'll have the first taste of his past, it'll be a downward slope from there and I don't want him to be the next Anastasia Bray." Zavala sadly replied seeing this as a complex situation. He has respect and admiration for Ana but he doesn't want Ace to fall out of line among the guardians.

"Perhaps. But Cayde wouldn't want this, he would want us to tell Ace on who was his father and we're only delaying the inevitable." Ikora implored to the titan who gets up from his seat to go back to his past looking at the awakened Traveler. She knows what he's going through and it's a greater pain than before.

* * *

Ace has Ana's ghost, Jinju, analyze his forearm if there's any side effects of that attack he had while Layla is out in the Crucible doing her usual things like killing guardians as he looks outside of the Bray-Tech facility of the snowy environment of Mars lost in his thoughts for a moment. The place has been empty with guardians simply arriving in the place clearing out Hive stragglers that are decreasing in numbers due to constant attacks with Red Legion moving out of the facility. Ana and Ace were always friends all this time, even covered her during her escape from the City while she was in the library.

"Say Ana, what made you find out who you once were?" Ace asks her thus grabbing Ana's attention from out of the blue yet she knows Ace is a lot like her, feeling out of place in the world which is fine but to Zavala and other guardians, it was an aberration. Yet here she is working with Rasputin under orders of the Vanguard and finding out who she once was as a renowned scientist.

"Well...I kinda felt out of place in the city despite everything. I may have had valor but something in me just didn't click at all and felt this itch inside me for some reason. It was a nagging feeling really and I answered the call to find out who I was and what my place is." Ana explained remembering her arguments with Zavala as she wanted to find out who she once was and a higher calling to it. But there was no feeling, not to Ace, it's just...a feeling to emptiness or feeling incomplete right now.

"Telling by the fact you asked me that question: You have the same feeling?" Ana asked curiously with Ace shaking his head. She knew Ace for a long time as she was the Cayde before Cayde and taught him the basics of being a hunter while the latter simply enhanced it further to the point Ace became one of the Vanguard's scouts later. Yet Ana sees herself in Ace as the rookie guardian who feels out of place with a purpose than just being one.

"Sort of...I feel like there's more out there than just being a guardian you know. I like who I am don't get me wrong, but I feel like there's something out there pulling me into something and I don't know it yet." Ace explained while Ana walks near him and places her hand on his shoulder then looks at the window.

"Maybe one day the time will come when it's time to find out who you are. Perhaps today or tomorrow." Ana assured. Ace's ghost, Weiss, spawns beside him causing the hunter to turn to her.

"Got a call from Zavala."

* * *

The same helmeted boy appears from a portal on top of a long pole-like rock formation as he looks at his surroundings to be a barren brown wasteland of some kind. A land where many died all for one weapon, a war with no victors, and a war that's about to start again once more yet he doesn't get the reasoning why the hunter is that of importance at all neither why is his boss so interested. Another cloaked figure appears next to another rock formation with his arms crossed before removing his hood revealing to be a man with silver hair and tan skin alongside yellow eyes.

"So how was your reconnaissance? What do you think of the Last City, Vanitas?" The man asks him causing Vanitas to sigh. To him, it looked like your typical world like he's been through every time only with a white ball. Yet he's intrigued by guardians who are people brought back from the dead with no memories of who they once were and using the light to destroy others, it reminds him of a pathetic old man.

"Well Xemnas, it's kind of stupid that they think a white magic ball with debris floating around it is going to protect them alongside zombies with guns. I'm impressed with their world though compared to the ones I have been in, it's more like a universe. Why's the boss so intrigued by the hunter though? He's a dimwit like all other guardians." Vanitas replied while turning his head to him.

"That white ball is a conduit of light and powers them. It is a god so don't underestimate its power. And that hunter is a walking paradox." He warned.

"A god in the form of a white ball. Hmph. What a bunch of idiots. So whens the rep from the B team arriving? They running errands like the guardians?" The helmeted boy irritably asks his superior before another dark portal appears with another hooded figure walking out of it. Her figure is a athletic with a hint of short red hair underneath her hood.

"Loxderj. We were just discussing about your group, it appears everything is in motion. Have you made the wish with that dragon?" Xemnas asks her causing her to nod. Loxderj nods in response with a small smile as more hooded figures appear on the rock formations with one of them is large and floating. Among them is a figure with the same outfit as them except glowing blue eyes shine in its dark hood.

"Very well. All we have to do...is wait."

* * *

Leona Bryl aims her binoculars at the temple on top of a mountain overlooking the  _Bay Of Drowned Wishes_  and moves the tool around to see if there's anything out there. She blinks for a moment but sees a pack of Scorn running thus prompting her to pull out her sniper rifle but notices that Taken are running beside them as they open a portal from whence they came much to her curiosity as the Scorn scatter but are shot dead by guardians. The guardians which consist of two hunters and a titan look at the cave for a moment as a pair of yellow eyes. The paladin lowers her binoculars with her eyes widen and activates her comms.

"Petra, contact the vanguard! We have a situation!" Leona yelled before taking aim while giving the guardians supporting fire.

* * *

"Just this morning we intercepted a call from Petra Venj to use our scouts to investigate a disturbance in the Dreaming City. Therefore, we need you and Layla to scout in one of the Dreaming City's lost sector." Zavala spoke on the communications inside Ace's ship known as the  _Alpha Umi_  colored blue with the hunter eating a burger inside it. He always loved that burger joint in the City where they would sell those double stacked bacon cheese burgers with onion rings in them alongside Layla who is in the same ship but its colored red instead due to the fact she saw a giant robot movie and based it off the villainess. The two ships hover over Earth's orbit.

"This is something else. Maybe a development in the curse after these months?" Layla asks. Months to a guardian is the equivalent to weeks but the curse on the Dreaming City is different because this wasn't a guardian victory at all, it made things worse and was a complete catastrophe compared to other guardian operations which have been successes in recent years. That and Layla is a sucker for happy endings because of all the things they went through like the death of Cayde-6 which leaves the hunters without a leader.

"Perhaps. The curse is cyclical but this was never seen at all. Maybe it can be the key to stopping it. I will need you two's expertise in scouting and find whatever is having the Queen's Wrath spooked and eliminate it if you have to then report in as usual." Zavala notified as Ace nods before looking at windshield of his ship while getting ready to jump which he does alongside Layla. He looks at Ace for a moment trying to compose himself to tell him about his father but all he sees is him, especially with that hood.

"And Ace..." The hunter looks at Zavala for a moment who is hesitant right now. Thoughts race through his mind alongside with his heart too how would he react to this, that the closest thing you had to a father was standing right next to you and treated you like his son and you didn't even know it at all. Cayde's death was recent and he's left an impact on him so he doesn't want to apply lemon juice to an already bad wound. Zavala sighs knowing that it's still not time yet.

"Good luck out there." Zavala logs off as Ace raises an eyebrow before they come out of hyper-space to the Dreaming City which they fly over to the destination Petra is at right now. The ship breaks through the atmosphere of the flat disk and spot Petra Venj overlooking the Strand where Scorn would attack the rift generator although there's barely any Scorn around with some eyeing them on high grounds as they descend upon the Awoken commander who spots them. Their respective ships fly past Petra with the two trans-matting outside as Ace has the almost finished burger sticking out of his mouth to which he uses his lips to make it move into his mouth and finishes his meal then burps.

"Ew..." Weiss grimaced.

"Oh come on. You need to let some air out!" Ace replied as his ghost rolls her eye. Of all the guardians, she wonders why did she choose him from the start but she remembers why though, it was because she wanted to stick out of the crowd and choose a fun guardian opposite of how much of an uptight ghost she is. Despite it all, Weiss still likes Ace a whole lot due to his attitude and skill. Petra spots them as Ace gives her a brief salute alongside Layla with Petra jumping off the platform and lands in front of them.

"Petra Venj, say can you do the knife trick first before going down to business?" The hunter asks with Layla turning to him then nodding. Petra levitates her knife on her hand much to Layla's awe and Ace's as well. The knife lands back to her hand causing Ace to pull his head back a little.

"Still sends chills down my spine. Cayde told me about that but since I'm rarely in the Reef, I assumed he must've been exaggerating about it. So, what's going on? Scorn seemed spooked and they don't get spooked cause they're more undead than Hive." Ace asks her with Petra smiling reminding her of Cayde a little even that hood of his which is the  _Vanguard Dare_  one although there appears to be a resemblance to his speech pattern alongside his behavior.

"Recently, one of our paladins reported a sighting of strange creatures coming out of the Bay Of Drowned Wishes, one of our lost sectors where guardians would find treasure. Their description matches Taken but instead are less unidentifiable and more erratic than them as well yet they are susceptible to light based weaponry and attacks." Petra explained to Ace as he looks at Layla for a moment then turns to Petra.

"Huh...maybe it's another Taken species? Who knows how big Oryx's army is." Ace replied.

"I don't think Taken are pure black and have yellow eyes. I need you two to deal with it as soon as possible, perhaps this new race can lead us to breaking the curse of the Dreaming City." Petra responded as the two hunters sigh and summon their respective sparrows which are a red  _Azure Azazyel_ that belongs to Ace while Layla's is the  _Warrior's Steed_ and colored blue. The two speed off while Layla leads him as she pulls out her sidearm,  _Havoc Pigeon_ , in case there's any Scorn or Taken blocking their way. Ace knows what Layla wants to do and he's not letting her beat him, especially when he's ranked number three on the SRL races, he presses thrust button his sparrow and speeds near her.

"Don't act like I know what you think you're doing!" Ace taunted his partner causing Layla to laugh briefly.

"Oh trust me dude, I'm so gonna beat you! Whoever's first to the objective is gonna buy me some spicy ramen!" Layla roared as the two speed towards the cave leading to the Divalean Mist where the lost sector is. They swerve both of their sparrows around the rock in between their paths as Ace moves up ahead with Layla behind him causing Ace to laugh briefly while turning around but she points her finger at something revealing to be a Scorn Abomination causing Ace to move to the left while Layla shoots it with her grenade launcher thus causing the mutated Fallen which kills it immediately. Ace squints his eye in the mist trying to see...he spots a black cloaked figure yet he doesn't have the time to react causing him to swerve his sparrow again and fall off of it. The hunter gets up knowing that it's the same black cloak that other guy was wearing in the tower as he pulls out his hand-cannon then looks around for a moment panicked. Layla arrives while reloading her grenade launcher and sees the commotion causing her to get off.

"What's going on? You seem a bit spooked." Layla asks him as he looks for a moment. He makes a guess that either his eyes are tricking him or something else is going making him think that there is something more to the curse than it seems rather than doing the same thing as always. The hunter aims his gun around his surroundings for a moment in a panic but lowers his gun then sighs while adjusting his eyes for a moment then opens them again.

"It's nothing. Swore I saw our little intruder in the tower. Anyway, that lost sector is near..." Ace replied but sees the same figure standing on top of the mountain before he vanishes into some kind of dark void. It's stuff like this makes him wonder if the Traveler has guardians, then what kind of antithesis the Darkness has? He shakes off these thoughts before leading Layla to the lost sector which is right behind where guardians would land. They spot the cave with the lost sector symbol on the side.

"You ever wonder who leaves these?" Ace asks trying to get his mind off what he just saw.

"Beats me, Petra said no one has ever stepped foot into the Dreaming City. But whoever is doing these has waay too much time on their hands." Layla agreed while walking into the cave with her ghost, Dokkaebi, shining the way. Ace aims his gun with the radar on his HUD checking for any signs of hostiles which lost sectors tend to have mostly with one ultra waiting in the other side.

"I know right? First minutes in then we get lost sector locations like hot cakes on our map. It's like someone is watching every guardians's move. Or maybe they know what we want and it's loot. Cause let's be serious, standard issued weapons aren't exactly what you call effective. I'm talking about the whites and greens, maybe the blues should be grouped in that category." Ace adds to Layla's statement.

"Well I have my theories: It's probably guardians who discover stuff or maybe its Vanguard drones scouting the area." Weiss theorized causing Ace to tilt his head side to side making a bit of a meh assumption. They head out into the open with mist surrounding them with the sunlight shining on parts like the rock with the tree on it but there's no Scorn running around since the report stated that whatever is in there was enough to scare them off. Ace spots something...a black figure crawling on the ground causing him to raise an eyebrow the raises his exotic weapon to prepare for an incoming fight causing him to motion Layla to follow to which she does switching to an  _Origin Story_ auto rifle while aiming her gun behind Ace as he leads the way. He hears faint whispering or lashing noises stemming from the other side of the lost sector where the treasure is located at.

The hunter spots a black yellow eyed creature of some kind that has humanoid features with spherical head and long twisted antennae making it look like something straight out of a child's drawing. Ace has seen Taken before but this is no Taken at all, it was something else and new at the same time. Weiss appears besides Ace and records the footage to stream it to the Vanguard then activates Ace's helmet cam then heads back inside his backpack. He shoots the creature causing it to explode due to the precision hit on its head.

"What the hell are these things?" Layla asks him as more begin to surround the two.

"I don't know but I think they're not Taken nor seem friendly." Ace replied while drawing his weapon while Layla aims her auto-rifle at all of them. The first one lunges towards him causing the hunter to fire his gun at the strange being's head causing it to burst while another dashes towards him but Layla shoots it down immediately while Ace moves up ahead with another jumping from behind him but he turns and shoots it while turning again to throw a knife at an incoming one. Another creature jumps towards his back but Ace ducks down and shoots it before turning around with Layla to shoot at more of them. He reloads his weapon but a creature grabs a hold on him causing Layla to to throw a knife at its back thus freeing Ace from its restraint as he nods back to Layla as a thank you. The last remaining creatures run towards the three with Layla pulling out her  _Black Talon_ sword then throws a long range energy shot at all of them in a row thus destroying the creatures.

"Okay when there are ads there's a source that can end it." He sighed as Layla walks to him.

"And I think that sources could be somewhere else. My guess is that it's where the treasure is." Layla replied causing Ace to nod in response. They move to the right spotting more of the creatures with Ace and Layla ready their weapons as Weiss notices more humanoid looking variations but still retain that antenna except longer and have claw-like hands. The pack runs towards them with Layla shooting first and Ace second one handed as their shells of their bullets drop on the ground as yet another jumps towards him as Ace throws a skip grenade at it causing the grenade to burst into tracker rounds to swarm the creature thus killing it. More head out of the cave with Layla activating her spectral blades then dashes towards the monsters then swings her blade and tears through its body with the remains vaporized by the void energy then slices more around her as another pack heads towards the huntress but Ace jumps from behind and unleashes his blade barrage at them with each knife going into their chests as they explode into solar embers from their remains. Layla turns invisible next while Ace sighs and throws a trip mine at one causing the thing to explode next to its allies while more head out of the cave with the huntress cutting past through them with Ace moving ahead but another jumps from the ground but he aims his gun backwards and shoots it next with Layla's super deactivating as the two clear the entire horde then venture into the cave.

"So any people to consult to deal with these things? My number one pick is Eris Morn." Ace asks his ghost who appears beside him. He's known Eris for a long time after all, sure he didn't learn much about Hive magic but she's actually a decent person underneath that darkness infected look on her. Layla heard about Eris before and she met her once though she creeped her out and it was only for a mission.

"Definitely! Eris probably knows about these things and where they came from." Weiss agreed and spots the center of the lost sector but with something standing there...another black cloaked figure. Ace's eyes widen alongside Layla's who aims her rifle at it assuming that it's the same one from the tower they saw earlier.

"Alright spooky, stand down cause last time I was caught off guard by your little show now I'm not gonna show some mercy a second time." Ace aims his hand-cannon at the figure who turns around while it turns to Layla aims carefully but notices a face underneath the hood...it's tan and has yellow eyes with a hint of silver hair. He summons a similar sword that the other wielded but different in design having a dark black handle with a raised spiral curve around it with the pommel and guard resembling black wings and the base has the symbol of a goat giving it a demonic design with the teeth of the blade resembling demonic wings.

"Foolish to think you can attack me with such a primitive weapon." The figure spoke looking at Ace's gun.

"Guns like this took down gods ya'know." Ace replied with a smirk underneath his helmet.

"But not ones like me..." The figure runs towards Ace with the weapon raised causing the hunter to start firing at him but he blocks the shots before suddenly vanishing then reappearing behind the hunter causing him to turn around quickly to pull out his knife then takes a brief swing to block him with sparks flying. Layla shoots another void blast from her sword but the figure blocks it again as Ace pulls out a trip mine and plants it on his back causing an explosion that knocks Ace against the wall but staggers the dark impetus leading Layla to run towards him and swing her sword left and right but he dodges and ducks before she raises it again to hit his head leading to him blocking the attack.

"So this is what you've become...a primitive" Layla roars in rage and attempts to push herself to make him fall while Ace gets up with his shield regenerating from the impact he got.

"Okay! Now I'm mad!" Ace yelled as the figure turns around briefly and gives a brief chuckle causing the hunter to aim his gun at him but he teleports away once more with another creature, much larger and muscular than the others with bandages on its face, spawns behind him and lifts the hunter causing Ace to turn around and start shooting its head but nothing is working despite a few damages to it. He struggles to move while Layla breaks the lock between her and the mysterious figure then pulls out her sidearm and starts shooting at him with the figure dashing left and right to dodge each shot she fires right before readying his sword at her but Layla does a quick dodge causing him to slash his blade against a rock.

Ace moves his legs around with the beast having its hand on his face but has an idea. He activates his super which is his golden gun and starts firing at the creature's chest thus burning it because of the light emitting from the power. It drops Ace causing him to divert his attention to the figure fighting Layla causing him to shoot at him again but the creature behind him and blocks the bullets but it burns it slightly. The hooded man fires a dark orb at Layla who shoots it causing the orb to burst but he makes a quick dash causing her to pull out her sword again to block the strike. What she doesn't know is that a black mass is beneath her feet which Ace notices. He knows what he must do...

The hunter runs around the creature while suppressing fire then pushes Layla off of the black mass and himself on it. Ace attempts to get up but he feels like something is dragging him under much to his confusion. The hooded figure vanishes into black smoke as Layla runs towards him.

"Ace!" Layla cried as Ace lifts his arm but he can't at all. Nothing is working, every step he's taking only leads him further and further to the point he's now at his head. There's no time left at all, his time has come and he knows it. Layla attempts to pull him but it makes the pull stronger as Ace looks at her for a moment knowing he's accepted his fate.

"Tell Zavala that being a Vanguard scout is the best...bet...I've ever..." The darkness takes over him as Layla screams while trying to shoot it off. Ace falls back for a moment with his view turning completely black and finds himself falling then closes his eyes.

* * *

"Get your brother to the machine, now!" A woman yelled at Ace who wakes up with a baby on his arms then looks around for a moment to see that he's in a lab. The woman has a name tag, Maya Sundaresh, as he puts him in some kind of Vex teleporter. It sparkles with the same flare as a normal teleporter would as someone takes the baby from behind it. It soon begins to malfunction and shut down.

"No, no! NO!" Maya yelled at the computer before Ace's vision fades away.

* * *

"Ace...Ace..." A muffled voice calls out to Ace in the darkness for a moment as his eyes begin to slowly open to see the sky colored in a darker shade of blue. His HUD is still active and that fact he's breathing means he's alive and well but something wasn't right at all. He slowly gets up with Weiss floating in front of his face.

"Get up you dolt! We're in some kind of weird place!" Weiss yelled at him causing him to rise into a sitting position. He's never had that dream before at all while he rises up. The hunter looks around for a moment seeing the strange area that looks like a grim yet beautiful picture with organic rocks with white veins on it, over the horizon he can see light which he assumes to be civilization meaning perhaps a quick use of a sparrow can help.

"Um Weiss? Where are we?" Ace asks his ghost worriedly for a moment.

"uM WeIsS? wHeRe aRe wE? We're in some weird place! It doesn't look like the ascendant realm at all." The female ghost mocked and screeched as Ace removes his helmet because it was getting harder to breath for a moment. He looks around for a moment trying to comprehend the situation at the moment seeing that this is some new alien world alongside the fact he can't contact the Vanguard. His sparrow would do the trick to get to the light but perhaps its better to stay on land for the time being for who knows whats inside the water.

"Alrighty then, Weiss can you do a scan? I need a layout of the land on my radar. Maybe there's some civilized society here." He ordered his ghost as she rolls her single eye then rises up into the air to give off a blue wave then lowers to her partner.

"As if anyone is gonna live here. I'm betting the Taken would...wait, I'm getting a signal. It's nearby. Just north." Weiss informed after the data came up with Ace nodding and walking along the shoreline overlooking the strange light over the horizon. This place is barren and devoid of light besides that one, it's like a realm of darkness or a meridian. His radar pings a blue signal nearby making him walk faster hoping its someone friend...he reaches the location. The hunter spots a back of a white haired woman standing on the water as if she's floating on it while his feet are deep. Something wasn't right at all with her and he can tell...

"Excuse me? Do you know where I am?" She doesn't answer but he can make out movement with her head indicating she heard him but he can make out her back clothing that consists of two cloths around her waist and the skin of her back exposed indicating she's wearing a corset of some kind.

"Your light...it reminds me someone." Those exact words immediately kicks Ace's knee jerk reaction making him open the holster of his gun. The fact she knows his light means she has something to do with the two cloaked figures and even sensing it like a dog sniffing a scent makes her more suspicious. A feeling of dread fills the air as the woman slowly turns around revealing her full form as that of wearing a black corset and two straps intersecting on her chest along with what appears to be black gloves with red tips reaching her sleeve while she wears shorts in between the two cloths on her waist. On her hand is a similar weapon that the other cloaked figures had albeit a little kid friendly-looking. The blade is adorned with stars with the teeth resembling key rows and the hilt being golden.

"Okay, I think that's my time to leave. Sorry if I was bothering you and your creepy...standing or whatever you were doing. I'll let you be!" Ace pleaded with an innocent smile while slowly backing away with Weiss preparing to revive Ace should a fight occur. The woman draws her sword at Ace and runs towards him causing Ace to draw his hand-cannon and starts firing away at the woman who blocks the incoming shots but Ace goes for the leg which grazes her a little causing her to briefly yelp in pain before coming closer to Ace then swings her sword at him but he pulls out his knife with the two weapons clanging against each other while giving off sparks as Ace ducks then turns to the woman.

"Can you please just look deep inside your heart and realize that I'm stuck here just like you?!" The hunter pleaded with the woman.

"There is no escape!" She roars at Ace causing him to throw a skip grenade at her as the tracker rounds begin to swarm her but she summons some kind of bubble around herself to protect herself causing all of the rounds to explodes but leaves herself unscathed by the explosion leaving Ace stunned with his eyes widen at the sight. The woman vanishes but reappears with duplicates of herself surrounding Ace while wandering around ominously making him wonder who's the real one while he aims his around him.

"You don't know what true loneliness is... No help ever came... I waited for so long..." The women spoke in unison as Ace looks behind him for an escape but a dark barrier is blocking the way giving him no choice but to fight her as they swarm around him. He has an idea as he jumps in the air and casts a blade barrage at all of them thus making all of them burst with one hitting the real woman and burns her slightly as she removes the knife from her shoulder with her wound healing from it. She disappears again but appears with more duplicates of herself to fire a stream of light at Ace who moves out of the way but is hit instead. The shots depletes his shield with Ace regaining his bearings as the woman and her copies turn into spinning tornado-like shapes shooting off sharp objects from them and begin to converge on him. Ace shoots his gun at the first one which causes her to stagger then runs to avoid being hit as all of them converge and form a strange star-like symbol. He shoots at her again but she turns around and fires a dark stream at him thus knocking the hunter away and making him drop his gun on the ground.

" All that's left in my heart is misery and despair...and I want you to feel it!" She roared at Ace who attempts to reach for his hand-cannon but the darkness burns his entire body making him wince in pain.

"Yeah I feel...every bone on my body. Maybe on my mind and my psyche..." Ace replied while looking at the woman as she closes in on him. The woman leaps towards Ace while yelling causing Ace to raise his right arm to cover himself. A flash light appears on his hand causing him to close his eyes then opens them slowly upon realizing that he's breathing. On his hand is a sword similar to hers and the other hooded figures but it's different. The blade is large resembling a slab of metal with the tip resembling a hunter knife alongside its teeth on its side. Its hilt has the hunter symbol on it and the arm guard surrounding the handle shaped like a square. The woman jerks her head back and eyes widen before Ace kicks her in the stomach then rolls over with the sword ready.

_**Face My Fears By Hikaru Utada and Skrillex.** _

"Hey Weiss, Check this out! I've never seen anything like this in the weapon records! Maybe I stepped on an exotic engram!" The hunter bragged before his ghost appears before him.

"I don't think there's a record period! But while this is all sorts of "fascinating" shouldn't you focus on something more important like, oh I don't know... SURVIVING THE ONSLAUGHT OF THIS PSYCHO YOU DOLT!" Weiss yelled at him as Ace smirks then swings his blade defiantly at the woman in front of him. He could feel his light surging with power on his hand. The woman runs towards him while Ace does the same as the two yell at each other as the hunter slams his blade against her with a mocking smile on his face looking back at her yellow eyes. He breaks the lock as she jumps back while Ace pulls out his hand-cannon again with some shots heading towards her but she blocks them all with Ace running full force at the woman feeling confident that he can beat her with it. Ace jumps in the air with the weapon raised as he is surrounded by solar energy that overtakes his body and sets the weapon on fire before slamming it on the ground giving off some solar burns on the woman as she growls in pain. He pulls out the  _Ace Of Spades_ again and starts firing at the woman who is hit numerous times by the shots inflicted on her with Ace moving while shooting at her. Ace swings the weapon to her side but she blocks it and fires off an electrical burst knocking Ace back but stops himself from staggering. The weapon begins to morph into a flaming pistol like a golden gun and shoots at her causing her to block them but a round passes by her shoulder.

A dark aura surrounds the woman causing Ace's eyes to widen for a moment before she unleashes a dark wave and knocks Ace on the ground and pulling down his hood. The weapon disappears again from his hand as he gets up noticing that its gone and looks at his gun on his hand while the woman rises up with all her injuries healed. He looks down at his gun in sadness as the woman teleports in front of him...and with a smile on his face, he closes his eyes knowing he's at peace now.

"...I'm coming home, Layla." Ace sadly said and aims the  _Ace Of Spades_ one last time defiantly at the menace who knocks him away with one fatal strike and dropping his gun again. He falls on the ground with his hunter outfit in tatters while crawls as the woman picks up the exotic weapon from the ground and observes the weapon on her hand then looks at Ace who is coughing in pain.

"Well...well this is awkward." The hunter coughed for a moment as she looms over him victorious from their fight. She observes the gun again which almost killed her, a primitive yet effective weapon...a perfect trophy.

"Hey...y-you got a gun I can barrow?" Ace asked trying to delay the inevitable.

" No. But...I do have a bullet. With your name on it." She replied to him and walks closer to the downed hunter like a predator closing in on a downed prey. Ace winces in pain while crawling back fruitlessly but the burns are too much for him.

"You're lucky that you're stuck here with me. Cause if you stepped into my world, they'd light you like a Dawning Tree...and destroy whatever this hellhole is this..." He continued to insult her. The woman puts her thumb on her lips with a small smile on her face knowing she has his most prized weapon and makes a shush sound with her mouth.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh..." She hushed him while brandishing the gun and wipes her hand on the barrel then turns to Ace.

"This is going to hurt...a lot." The woman takes aim at him.

"Any last words?" Of all the things Ace has seen, this takes the cake and he wishes that this was all a bad dream but it wasn't, he's going to die here and that's final...or not. He's just giving her a head start because she's pretty and gives her the chance to kill a handsome hunter like him.

"Y-You said my light reminds you of someone...who was it?" Ace asked her as she gets flashes of a blonde boy before snapping back to reality.

"Someone I knew...and you're not him." She responded.

"I always wanted to go out in the sunset with a pretty woman as a first date...meh, this counts." And to that comment, Ace sealed his face. The woman fires the gun at his head thus killing the hunter as she stands there observing the body. She turns around and begins to walk away while observing the weapon then holsters it on her back. What she doesn't know is that Weiss is behind Ace's head hiding and activates her revive ability causing Ace to open his mouth gasping for air and attempts to rise up but Weiss gets in front of his head and gently pushes him down then turns as the woman vanishes then looks at Ace.

"She's gone." Weiss notified while Ace rises up.

"And she's got my hero's gun...well lets be thankful that I got a spare." Ace replied before spawning a  _Hawkmoon_ hand-cannon while getting up for a moment to hunt her down for stealing his gun.

* * *

Layla stands before an Ahamkara bone with its spirit, Muninn, sensing her presence. She knows how these things work and takes a deep breath to make a wish to get her friend back.

* * *

The woman continues to walk in the sands...and spots a door out of nowhere. She tilts her head then heads towards it but something hits her in the back of the head revealing to be a sand ball.

"Hey! We're not done yet!" Ace's voice yelled at her.


End file.
